Here are some ideas I am interested in exploring in Aurora Sitka:

The Cubs' Education

Aurora's Training

Pack Structure

Aurora's Family

Aurora's Character, Attitude, etc

Pack Population

About fifty to a hundred. It was founded by four (five? six? more?) families. In any case, the genetics are relatively diverse. It's possible to take a mate from within the pack and not have to search other packs. Aurora's possible mate, Australis (I haven't decided yet) is (mostly) from another family line.

Disruption of Routine

[Aurora is 13 at this time]

Dawn illuminated the gloomy interior of our cave. It brushed across my face, opening my eyes and tickling my nose. I took a deep breath, pulling in the scent of the other pack members. Some were stirring, as I was, others were still curled tightly in their hollows.

I also caught the scent of stale air in my compacted fur. Pushing myself off the sandy floor of the cave, I stretched, first my arms, then my back, then my legs, my tail arcing high above me. A little fresher, but not there yet. I shook all over, starting with my head and moving down to finally whip my tail as far to either side as it would go. Now my fur smelled fresher.

I reached for my knife belt lying beside me and withdrew the antique tool within. Testing its edge, as I did every morning, and often throughout the day, I looked the rest of it over and returned it to its sheath. That done, I jumped up and ran on all fours out of the cave to the river and leapt as far from the bank as I could, howling all the way. When i surfaced, I heard our pack's alpha male, Zenith, howling for me. "Aurora," he said after I acknowledged him, "when you're done washing up, come out and get breakfast. We're going to town."

Transportation

We jogged in an easterly direction, heading for the town 20 kilopaces away. About halfway, we slowed to a walk as I tired, then when we were in sight of it, jogged the rest of the way in. I'd been here several times before, and to the small city 100 kilopaces beyond a couple of times. I wondered if we would be going there now.

Sure enough, we got on the hover bus and we were soon zooming over the prairie at a speed that I'd been told was a quarter that of sound.

"Aurora," he began after we were cruising along, "It's time you learned more of our world. We are going to the city, but we won't stop there. I have some friends on the other end of the continent who require my help. You may be able to assist us as well." He smiled. "In any event, this should be educational. For both of us."

In the city, we boarded a hover train, which was bigger than the bus and went higher and faster - a hundred paces in the air at over half the speed of sound, according to the display in the cabin.

The final - and longest - leg of the trip was on something called a sky train. It was not much bigger than the hover train, but far higher performance. It took us to the edge of space and went many, many times faster than sound. "There are two Zeniths on this trip," I quipped to my Alpha when the cabin display showed that we were at the highest altitude. He chuckled at that.

When we landed at our destination, it was still daylight. It took a while to sink in that we had gone an impossible distance in only one day.

I had heard about these and other kinds of transport before, and seen images, but the real thing was more impressive. I kept coming back to the fact that each stage of the journey, including the original walk to the first town, had taken roughly the same amount of time.

Encountering the City and Technology

We left the sky train terminal and descended into a vast canyon. The city was built into its walls - homes, businesses, and offices carved into the stone.

I took in all the information I could, visual, audio, and scent, but what I noticed most of all was the people. They were so many different colors, shapes, and sizes. Most of them wore clothing and a few wore boots. I'd seen images of city people in the pack, but seeing them live was still fascinating. The boots most of all. I couldn't get over the fact that they were being worn here, of all places, where the walking surface was relatively smooth and unthreatening! There had been situations where I would have liked to protect my feet, but this was certainly not one of them. The only idea I could come up with (correct in most cases, I would later learn) was that the people wearing boots were going to or coming from somewhere they needed foot protection.

After the clothes - and the footwear again, whenever I would see it - I noticed the colors of fur. My pack was mostly black, myself most of all. I saw red, tan and grey, orange, and silvery-blue. But white had the greatest effect on me. I'd never seen white fur on a person before, and even on an animal, I'd never seen white fur everywhere on a body. Even though I knew it was rude, I couldn't help but stare whenever I saw a pure white coat.

Emergency

Advanced Schooling and University

Service to her Pack

Hobbies, Jobs, etc

Aurora in Diplomacy

At the Academy

I'd been in cramped tunnels before, but the environment suit was worse. It cut off all sense of smell from outside. There was a scent generator, but it did not replace nature.

Jobs in the Forces

Aurora's Mate

Aurora's Cubs

Aurora's Accomplishments

Aurora's Career

Rank Advancements

Meeting Albus Koy

Andrea Sitka

Meeting Kisara

Meeting Felix

I sized up my newest group of Long-Term Wilderness Survival students and privately made predictions of how they would do in the lessons.

"Before we start, are there any questions?" I asked. They asked the usual questions at the beginning of a course like this, but it was Felix who asked the question I've been asked most often that has usually been answered by someone else.

"Um, Captain Sitka, may I ask why you're not wearing a uniform?"

I did a mental countdown and, right on time, his friend Kisara said, "Maybe she's just wearing a tool harness, but her rank insignia is on it, isn't it?"

Felix agreed and I continued with the course intro. "Does everyone have the materials and supplies they were asked to bring?"

A round of affirmations.

"Well, you can dump it all here," I said as I pulled off my tool harness, leaving me furclad. "and remove your uniforms, too. You won't be needing any of it."